Romney field art cropping up across area

An Idaho man recently stopped in Lenawee County as part of a field art campaign to support presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his vice presidental running mate, Paul Ryan.

Paul Marks of Cambridge Township said he was contacted Sept. 28 by Shawn Stolworthy, who has been traveling across the country carving “Go Romney” campaign messages into fields that can be seen from the air.

“He was looking for a harvested crop field he could do this on,” Marks said. “I have a 10-acre hay field that’s not been tended.”

After talking with Stolworthy about the proposed project, Marks said he gave him permission to proceed to work on the field near Slee Road.

“For me and my family, it’s not political as much as it is providing a place for the art. I was looking at it more along the lines of showing my kids it’s important to do something and being part of the political process in general,” Marks said.

Stolworthy said he decided to do the crop art campaign across Michigan, Ohio, Iowa and Colorado because of his concern about “our national debt and the direction of the current fiscal policies.”

“I feel like we (as voters) have a chance to make a difference,” Stolworthy said of the 2012 election. “We need to have a new energy policy, and this is how I am doing my part to get the word out.”

Stolworthy said he scouts fields large enough to support his art, gets permission from the landowner, and lays out a design in a computer program. He then plugs the design into a GPS device and heads out into the field on a small tractor with a rototiller.

Marks said from the time Stolworthy started to map out the field, it took him less than four hours to finish the art.Stolworthy, who on Friday was working on his 12th piece of crop art, also carved field property in Liberty and Hanover townships in Jackson County, as well as near Delta, Ohio. The Idaho man who cuts corn mazes for a living said he intends to conclude his field campaign in the next week or so.“I’ve been away from family for two months,” he said. “It’s time to go back home.”To see photos of Stolworthy’s creations, visit facebook.com/romneyforpresidentcropart.